Being Bilingual Essay
Growing up bilingual meant that not only was I lucky to be cultured in two languages but it also meant that I had an expanded vocabulary with words in Spanish and in English. In elementary, I felt uncomfortable speaking either language around my classmates because they would look at me strange if I spoke Spanish with someone and then weird again if I spoke English and I felt that I had to identify with just one. Once I got into my teenage years I learned that being bilingual was not a disadvantage but an advantage which meant that I would be able to relate to not just one crowd but, two. This made me realize why I got looked at funny when I was little, they did not know that I was using my second language to express myself to people who spoke
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Technology is a big factor in this because it has created various new words with different meanings then they may have originally had. “Shared experiences lead to shared meaning once words are assigned to the experiences…Words can be used to elicit thoughts because other people have similar experiences” (Lee, PowerPoint). A word such as “bad” meant a negative meaning like “oh that looks so bad on you do not wear it”. However, Social media has changed the meaning of the word to complimenting someone in the sense of “ wow girl you look bad” or “ you a baddie” this meaning is a positive way in saying someone looks drop dead basically. If you had not had the experience of social media and someone said that someone looked bad, you would assume that it was an actual negative comment and would not have the same meaning. Effective communication with others is where the Triangle of Meaning connects and overlaps. People can communicate only to the extent that they share experience. Having the same referent or experience leading to the same thought and therefore, the same symbol creates a more clear communication for both parties.
One of the key critics of the referential theory is that “Many words have no actual reference” (Lee, Power Point). Words that connect words such as: a, or, the, of, etc. However these are words that just combine thoughts. Those aren’t experiences or symbols. They are simply fillers. Without these words language wouldn’t
Technology is a big factor in this because it has created various new words with different meanings then they may have originally had. “Shared experiences lead to shared meaning once words are assigned to the experiences…Words can be used to elicit thoughts because other people have similar experiences” (Lee, PowerPoint). A word such as “bad” meant a negative meaning like “oh that looks so bad on you do not wear it”. However, Social media has changed the meaning of the word to complimenting someone in the sense of “ wow girl you look bad” or “ you a baddie” this meaning is a positive way in saying someone looks drop dead basically. If you had not had the experience of social media and someone said that someone looked bad, you would assume that it was an actual negative comment and would not have the same meaning. Effective communication with others is where the Triangle of Meaning connects and overlaps. People can communicate only to the extent that they share experience. Having the same referent or experience leading to the same thought and therefore, the same symbol creates a more clear communication for both parties.
One of the key critics of the referential theory is that “Many words have no actual reference” (Lee, Power Point). Words that connect words such as: a, or, the, of, etc. However these are words that just combine thoughts. Those aren’t experiences or symbols. They are simply fillers. Without these words language wouldn’t